Currently, a terminal user purchases a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module, subscriber identification module) card or a UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card, universal integrated circuit card) from an operator, and can access, based on a profile written to the card, a network of the operator by inserting the SIM card or the UICC into a terminal (device). An eUICC is a UICC that supports secure remote management of a subscription profile (profile) and/or a UICC that supports local management of a profile.
Because the eUICC is usually integrated into a terminal by a terminal manufacturer, and is usually not purchased or manufactured by the operator, after the terminal leaves a factory, the eUICC may not include data that allows access to the network of the operator. The terminal needs to connect to an SM-DP+ (Subscription Manager-Data Preparation+, subscription manager-data preparation entity) by using a remote management technology, to receive a profile delivered by the SM-DP+, and download the profile to the eUICC, so that the eUICC can then access the network of the operator by using the profile.
The profile may include a plurality of policy rules (policy rules). A RAT (Rules Authorization Table, rules authorization table) is preconfigured in the terminal. The RAT records applicable-operator information and user authorization information that are respectively corresponding to the plurality of policy rules, and limits a rule with which the operator needs to comply when setting the policy rules. For example, the RAT records that a policy rule 1 applies to an operator A and an application condition is that user consent is required. If a profile includes the policy rule 1, and the profile including the policy rule 1 is installed in the terminal, when the terminal is to access the operator A based on the profile, the terminal can access a network only after obtaining the user consent.
The prior art does not relate to how to download the RAT to the eUICC in the terminal, and an existing RAT lists only a list of operators that are allowed to use a policy rule, where either all operators are allowed to use the policy rule or a specific operator is allowed to use the policy rule. In addition, there is a case in which use of one or more policy rules is forbidden in some regions, and according to the prior art, these policy rules may not be defined in the RAT. In this case, these policy rules not only cannot be used in the regions, but also cannot be used in other regions. This greatly limits an application scope of the terminal.